Carbon12

Carbon12 is a wooden building in north Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The eight-story structure built with Oregon-made cross laminated timber became the tallest wood building in the United States, upon its completion.[1]

For the isotope of the element, see Carbon-12.

Carbon12
General information
Address	3498 North Williams Ave
Town or city	Portland, Oregon
Country	United States
Coordinates	45.54814°N 122.66645°W / 45.54814; -122.66645
Height	85 feet
Technical details
Material	Cross laminated timber
Floor count	8
Design and construction
Developer	Ben Kaiser
Other designers	Path Architecture
Main contractor	Design Awards
Known for	Tallest wood building in the United States

Carbon12 is located in north Portland, Oregon, in the United States, on the corner of North Williams Avenue and Northeast Fremont Street.

History

While the use of timber frames for the construction of 1-2 story buildings is typical in many countries (see: timber framing), antiquated building codes in the United States discouraged wood frame construction in 5-floor buildings or higher for many years.[2] With the advancement of science, construction technologies and innovation have led to the use of engineered wood products that have load capacities stronger than steel[3], and fire resilience beyond those required to meet US building code standards.[4][5] These improved qualities, alongside the historical construction of tall wood buildings in Europe.[2], have led to an acceptance of wood in US construction and new building codes are being proposed to adjust for this[4]

The Carbon12 building ran in the USDA's Tall Wood Buildings contest (2014) but did not win the prize.[2] Oregon Governor Kate Brown was present when the building reached its peak height. The Carbon12 is acclaimed as a booster for Oregon's timber industry.[1]

Given the rising popularity of wood construction, Carbon12's title of tallest wood building in the United States is already being challenged by a 148-feet, 11-floor wood-framing building in Portland, Framework, under construction.[1]

Description

The building measures 85 feet high for 8 floors, 2 units per floor. The building employs mass timber, glued laminated timber (glulam) and CLT (cross-laminated timber) in its structural system. Steel is used in the core and for connecting braces, and concrete for the basement, ground floor and garage (automated garage),[2] with two ground floor retail spaces.

Residents of the Carbon12 have given interviews describing the building as "beautiful" and "bright". Some residents have also applauded the buildings commitment to universal design, which accommodates individuals who are not typically considered in the use of a building and might otherwise find themselves unable to access areas of a structure or their home.[6]

See also

• ATLAS-I the largest wooden structure, made from glued laminated timber
• Framework (building)
• List of tallest wooden buildings

References

1. Oregon pushes for wooden skyscrapers to revive timber industry, The Oregonian, 30 April 2017
2. Garrett Andrews, Wood: the sky’s the limit, Daily Journal of Commerce, 8 March 2017
3. Song, Jianwei; Chen, Chaoji; Zhu, Shuze; Zhu, Mingwei; Dai, Jiaqi; Ray, Upamanyu; Li, Yiju; Kuang, Yudi; Li, Yongfeng (2018-02-07). "Processing bulk natural wood into a high-performance structural material". Nature. 554 (7691): 224–228. doi:10.1038/nature25476. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 29420466.
4. "What the Fire Service Needs to Know about Tall Wood Buildings". Firehouse. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
5. Zelinka, Samuel; Hasburgh, Laura; Bourne, Keith; Tucholski, David; Ouellette, Jason (2018). Compartment Fire Testing of a Two-Story Mass Timber Building (PDF). General Technical Report FPL–GTR–247. USDA, US Forest Services, Forest Products Laboratory (published May 2018).
6. "Who's moving into the nation's tallest timber building? Portlanders with lofty dreams (photos)". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2018-11-21.

External links

• Project presentation